At 1 and 10, the University of Colorado football team had nothing to play for but pride.

Considering it was the day after a holiday when many people ate and drank until they were incapacitated, and the fact that the Buffaloes have been embarrassed at home all season, there may not have been much reason for the fans to show up, either.

But the team did show up Friday -- along with more than 39,400 fans -- and played one of their most competitive games of the year, falling short in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The Utah Utes beat the Buffs, 42-35.

Despite the dreadful 1-11 season, some fans donning black and gold at Folsom Field on Friday expressed hope.

"Nowhere to go but up," J. P. Elton said seconds after the game -- and season -- came to an end. "They played hard."

Elton and friend Ryan Stewart are CU alumni and have had season tickets for years.

"We're looking forward to next year," said Stewart, who noted many of the Buffs' young players are expected to improve next year. "We'll be back."

Bernice Moon has been a season-ticket holder for 33 years and has worked at the university for the past 24. She expressed faith the team will grow and improve next year.

Moon, of Longmont, said she was surprised and pleased by the level of fan support Friday. Even though the stands began to empty long before the end of the fourth quarter, the turnout was better than the 38,600 that came to last week's game against the Washington Huskies, thanks in part to about 4,000 free tickets.

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Carrie Feldman, a 2005 CU grad, tailgated with about a dozen friends in a parking lot across from Folsom Field before Friday's game. Sporting a yellow foam hat in the shape of goal posts, Feldman said she believes Buffs fans are among the most loyal in college football.

"No matter how good the football team is, the fans always show up," said Feldman, who now lives in New York and was attending her first Buffs game of the 2012 season.

CU freshman Jensen Allen has been attending Buffs games since his brother was a student five years ago. He said he was impressed by the fan turnout when he scanned the stands in the first quarter.

"It's pretty good, especially with all the families," he said as he stood on the bleachers in the student section alongside his sister, Anneke. "I always like the Thanksgiving games. They're always fun. The atmosphere and the fans are really supportive."

The 2012 Buffs became the first team in school history to go winless at Folsom Field, and competitive or not, the outcome of Friday's game left many fans wondering how long until winning football returns to Boulder.

"It's frustrating," Pat Walseth, a 2005 CU alumnus, said after the game Friday. "It just feels like we're a snake-bitten team."

Walseth said he has been coming to Buffs games with his family for 20 years. While he doesn't plan to stop supporting the team any time soon, he wants to see changes, which he believes should start at the top with the university's president and chancellor.

"I feel like (the administration) doesn't give the program any support," Walseth said. "They don't realize this is an advertisement for the rest of the university."

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